The Norwegian striker's statistics are astonishing, with his club and his national team. He has scored 90 goals in 98 games in different competitions over two seasons with Manchester City, and 30 in 32 matches with Norway since 2019, when he made his debut with the national team.
However, Haaland produced “only” five goals in six qualifying games with Norway, which finished third in Group A, behind Spain and Scotland, and did not even qualify for the playoffs.
The absence of Norway also means that Martin Odegaard, captain of that team and of Arsenal, will not participate in the tournament in Germany.
Norway won only three of eight qualifying matches. They were six points behind Scotland, who were second in the group.
Here's a look at other notable players who will be absent from Euro 2024 opening on Friday:
THIBAUT COURTOIS
He was healthy enough to make two key saves during the first half of the Champions League final, helping Real Madrid to another crown.
But the Belgian goalkeeper announced in December that he would be absent from the Euros and has not gone back on his decision, despite the fact that he regained his full fitness with Madrid after a knee injury that plagued him for a long time.
In addition, there are tensions between Courtois and Belgian coach Domenico Tedesco.
Courtois questioned Tedesco's “reality,†after the strategist accused him of abandoning his teammates and faking an injury last year, ahead of a knockout match.
Without the Madrid goalkeeper, Tedesco's options in goal are Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest), Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg) and Thomas Kaminski (Luton).
KARIM BENZEMA
He retired from the French team a day after they lost the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina, without the striker.
Last year, he also left Real Madrid to join Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia. At 36 years old, he appears to have left his best days on the court behind him.
Benzema received the Ballon d'Or in 2022, but missed that year's World Cup in Qatar due to a tear in his left thigh during training before the tournament.
He also did not play in Russia 2018, when France was crowned. He was then still exiled from the national team for his alleged role in a video scandal with his teammate Mathieu Valbuena.
French coach Didier Deschamps has many variants at the helm, even without Benzema. The first is of course that of captain Kylian Mbappé.
The list of France forwards also includes Bradley Barcola, Kingsley Coman, Ousmane Dembélé, Olivier Giroud, Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram.
Two other former starters of the French team who will be absent are midfielder Paul Pogba, who is serving a doping ban, and defender Lucas Hernández, who recently underwent surgery after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
MARCUS RASHFORD
The Manchester United striker paid the price for a disappointing season with his club and was not included in the initial squad of 33 selected by manager Gareth Southgate.
Rashford scored just eight goals for United, which had its worst performance in Premier League history, finishing eighth.
The exclusion comes just two seasons after Rashford had the best season of his career, scoring 34 goals for club and country.
Jack Grealish, Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson – who played in the final that England lost to Italy on penalties in 2021 – were also left out of Southgate's squad.
“They are difficult decisions. You think about the players, they are very good and have been an important part of what we have achieved,†Southgate said. “With Marcus, I feel like there are players in the same area of the court who have had better seasons. It's as simple as that.â€
MAT HUMMELS
Reaching the Champions League final was not enough for Hummels to be included in the squad of hosts Germany.
He made the case for his inclusion with his inspiring performances at Borussia Dortmund. But Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said there were “1,000 components” to the decision to exclude the veteran defender.
Nagelsmann preferred Antonio Rüdiger of Real Madrid and Jonathan Tah of Bayer Leverkusen as his centre-backs. Anyone else would have to settle for a substitute role.
Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck is clearly happy to be the reserve and was included in the squad.
Leon Goretzka, Bayern Munich midfielder, was also left out, despite a good end to the campaign in the Bundesliga.
SANDRO TONALI
The Newcastle midfielder is serving a 10-month suspension for betting on the teams he played for. This prevented Italy, the defending champion, from considering him for their squad.
Luciano Spalletti, the Italian coach, was thus left without his first option to generate plays. But the situation opened space for players like Jorginho and Lorenzo Pellegrini.
Tonali looked like the heir to the role that once belonged to Andrea Pirlo, setting the pace and directing the Azzurri's attack.
Several more players from Italy are injured: Domenico Berardi, Nicolò Zaniolo, Francesco Acerbi and Giorgio Scalvini.
